Lesson 3: Visual Grammar – Interactive meanings of offer and demand
Unit Topic: “Our Community: Bankstown”
Curriculum Link: HSIE
Yr Level: Stage 2 / Year 4
Lesson Number: 6 of 10
Lesson Topic: Interactive meanings – offer and demand
Learning Area: English
Unit Aim: Students will learn about their local community and present information about Bankstown in an integrated HSIE / English unit. Students will examine how to effectively construct a factual recount (both written and spoken), including visual grammar and multimodal techniques that can be used to support information, for a specific audience and social purpose. By the end of the unit, students will produce texts that are well-structured (using the appropriate schematic structure of factual recounts) and well-presented (including supporting visual images). Unit Outcome: CUS2.3 Explains how shared customs, practices, symbols, languages and traditions in communities contribute to Australian and community identities. ·Identifies some significant customs, practices and traditions of their local community, beginning with Aboriginal people ·Gives some reasons why their local community is different to others and why it is of value and should be respected ·Identifies major community religions and places of religious significance in their communities, eg temple, church, synagogue, mosque ·Locates and identifies evidence of the languages used in their local community, beginning with the original Aboriginal languages, eg signage, place names, sign language
Lesson Aim: In the last lesson, students edited their written factual recount on a topic pertaining to their local community (e.g. community traditions). This lesson will focus on exploring and developing understanding of what visual images can be used to support factual recounts. Students will learn about the visual grammar technique of offer and demand and by the end of the lesson, will be able to select appropriate images to convey particular interactive meanings (Unsworth, 2001, p.72). Lesson Outcome: RS2.7 Discusses how writers relate to their readers in different ways, how they create a variety of worlds through language and how they use language to achieve a wide range of purposes. ·Recognises how different factual texts are organised according to their purpose. ·Talks about different interactive meanings of visual texts and discusses their purpose and meanings. WS2.10 Produces texts clearly, effectively and accurately, using the sentence structure, grammatical features and punctuation conventions of the text type. ·Selects relevant images to accompany own writing. ·Chooses images that are appropriate for the audience and purpose of the text.
Resources: A range of factual recounts and visual images (e.g. see Appendix E), SMARTboard, 5 large pictures from The History of Bankstown (see Appendix F) of offer and demand (Bankstown City Council, 2003), digital cameras (or viewfinders – see description in the ‘body’), worksheet for drafting visual (Appendix G).
Lesson Outline:
Introduction:
In pairs, students are given a range of factual recounts and a variety of visual images. Students must discuss and match the appropriate visual image with the factual recount. The teacher walks around the different pairings and asks for justifications as to why students have selected particular images for particular recounts. Remind students to consider the intended audience and the purpose of the recount when linking the pictures with the texts.
Teaching strategy/LearningActivity:
Teacher will: Bring the class together and discuss the types of images that the students had to look at (maps, diagrams, photographs, timelines etc.). Facilitate discussion on how the students’ linked the images with the texts.
Place 5 large pictures relating to the unit (from the resource The History of Bankstown (Bankstown City Council, 2003)) on the board.
Talk about the content of each image.
How does each image make the students feel when they look at it?
Explain how when we look at an image there is a relationship between us and what we are looking at (describe this by making comparisons between an image of a person ‘staring’ at the audience and one where the person is not looking directly at the camera).Inform the students that when we take a picture of a person or animal that is looking straight at the camera, that person is ‘demanding our attention’ and so we call this type of picture a ‘demand’.
Get volunteers to come up and point to one picture each that is an example of a demand. When the whole class agrees write the caption ‘demand’ underneath that picture.
Explain that sometimes we want to use pictures that do not demand our attention.
Ask: do the pictures that are not labelled demand our attention?
If so, in what ways? (e.g. bold colours, strong vectors – students will draw upon prior knowledge from previous units).
Because contact is not demanded by a person, or an animal, we call this style of picture an ‘offer’ (write the word under the remaining pictures).
Provide student groups (approx. 3 per group) with a digital camera (if the school does not have this resource, a ‘viewfinder’ made from a sheet of cardboard with a 10cm x 8cm rectangle cut out can be given to pairs). Each group then practices taking photos of demand and offer (remind students to experiment with different angles and different shot lengths). Each person in the group gets to be photographer for 3 minutes, when the teacher shakes a tambourine, they must switch.
At the end of 10 minutes, come back as a class and connect the cameras to the SMARTboard and discuss some of the students’ photographs – how do the photographs make the class feel? How do they make you feel that way? (Or if no cameras are available, discuss what each group did with their viewfinder – how did they use demand and offer? How did angles and shot length change the meaning of the picture? In this case, the teacher may need to have other photographs available for discussion).
Students will: Discuss the types of images and what they used or did to link the images with the written text.
Observe the pictures and discuss the content of each picture. Students will talk about how each image makes them feel and why they think they feel this way (what is it about the image that creates that feeling?).
Volunteers select the images of demand, and the whole class confirms that the picture selected is a ‘demand’ image.
Students respond to open-questioning, drawing on prior knowledge about visual images from previous units.
Students gain an understanding about images of ‘offer’.
Groups are formed and each student takes a turn capturing pictures of demand and offer, drawing on prior knowledge of other image techniques (e.g. angles, shot length).
Students observe other group’s photos (or the teacher’s prepared ones if no cameras are available) and participate in the whole group discussion.
Concluding strategy: Students now select whether an image of demand, or an image of offer is more appropriate to include with their written factual description. They then fill in their worksheet by selecting what type of image would be best to include (timeline, diagram, map, photograph) and design a prototype of their image (which they will make either on the computer, by searching images on CD ROM or the Internet, or by taking an appropriate photograph, uploading it and cropping it to size next lesson).
Assessment: The teacher will make observations during the introduction and assess students’ knowledge through discussion. This will assess whether the students can recognise how images are linked with factual recounts according to their purpose and audience. Students’ photographs (or teacher observation during the viewfinder activity) will be utilised to assess students’ understanding of demand and offer and observation of class discussion will further provide information for this assessment. Students’ draft images will be marked, to assess understanding of interactive meanings of demand and offer in relation to the purpose of their written text and the ability to apply visual grammar techniques.
Key questions to be answered include: 1.Does the student talk about the interactive meanings of different visual texts and relate the use of demand and offer to the purpose and meaning of the image? 2.Did the student select a relevant image (including its appropriate interactive meaning) to accompany their written factual recount?
Any special considerations or contingency plans: Viewfinders should be made and available in case of problems with technology (such as dead batteries).
During the cooperative group work task, the teacher should provide extra guidance to students who may still be unclear about the concept of demand/offer. The teacher should ensure that the groups are mixed-ability for this task. If required, further assistance should be given to any ESL students when they are designing their own image to support their writing. The teacher might use the resource The History of Bankstown (Bankstown City Council, 2003) to show another example to these students.
Self-reflection: ·Was the introductory activity set at an appropriate level for stage 2 students? Were they able to work cooperatively to achieve the outcome for this activity? ·Were the students able to apply the new knowledge of demand and offer to the photography and draft image activities, or is further teaching of this subject matter required? ·Could the student select an appropriate image to support their written factual recount? ·What parts of the lesson worked well and were engaging for the students and what would I change? ·Will students be able to apply this knowledge to their final task?
Students will learn about their local community and present information about Bankstown in an integrated HSIE / English unit. Students will examine how to effectively construct a factual recount (both written and spoken), including visual grammar and multimodal techniques that can be used to support information, for a specific audience and social purpose. By the end of the unit, students will produce texts that are well-structured (using the appropriate schematic structure of factual recounts) and well-presented (including supporting visual images).
Unit Outcome:
CUS2.3 Explains how shared customs, practices, symbols, languages and traditions in communities contribute to Australian and community identities.
· Identifies some significant customs, practices and traditions of their local community, beginning with Aboriginal people
· Gives some reasons why their local community is different to others and why it is of value and should be respected
· Identifies major community religions and places of religious significance in their communities, eg temple, church, synagogue, mosque
· Locates and identifies evidence of the languages used in their local community, beginning with the original Aboriginal languages, eg signage, place names, sign language
In the last lesson, students edited their written factual recount on a topic pertaining to their local community (e.g. community traditions). This lesson will focus on exploring and developing understanding of what visual images can be used to support factual recounts. Students will learn about the visual grammar technique of offer and demand and by the end of the lesson, will be able to select appropriate images to convey particular interactive meanings (Unsworth, 2001, p.72).
Lesson Outcome:
RS2.7 Discusses how writers relate to their readers in different ways, how they create a variety of worlds through language and how they use language to achieve a wide range of purposes.
· Recognises how different factual texts are organised according to their purpose.
· Talks about different interactive meanings of visual texts and discusses their purpose and meanings.
WS2.10 Produces texts clearly, effectively and accurately, using the sentence structure, grammatical features and punctuation conventions of the text type.
· Selects relevant images to accompany own writing.
· Chooses images that are appropriate for the audience and purpose of the text.
In pairs, students are given a range of factual recounts and a variety of visual images. Students must discuss and match the appropriate visual image with the factual recount. The teacher walks around the different pairings and asks for justifications as to why students have selected particular images for particular recounts. Remind students to consider the intended audience and the purpose of the recount when linking the pictures with the texts.
Bring the class together and discuss the types of images that the students had to look at (maps, diagrams, photographs, timelines etc.). Facilitate discussion on how the students’ linked the images with the texts.
Place 5 large pictures relating to the unit (from the resource The History of Bankstown (Bankstown City Council, 2003)) on the board.
Talk about the content of each image.
How does each image make the students feel when they look at it?
Explain how when we look at an image there is a relationship between us and what we are looking at (describe this by making comparisons between an image of a person ‘staring’ at the audience and one where the person is not looking directly at the camera). Inform the students that when we take a picture of a person or animal that is looking straight at the camera, that person is ‘demanding our attention’ and so we call this type of picture a ‘demand’.
Get volunteers to come up and point to one picture each that is an example of a demand. When the whole class agrees write the caption ‘demand’ underneath that picture.
Explain that sometimes we want to use pictures that do not demand our attention.
Ask: do the pictures that are not labelled demand our attention?
If so, in what ways? (e.g. bold colours, strong vectors – students will draw upon prior knowledge from previous units).
Because contact is not demanded by a person, or an animal, we call this style of picture an ‘offer’ (write the word under the remaining pictures).
Provide student groups (approx. 3 per group) with a digital camera (if the school does not have this resource, a ‘viewfinder’ made from a sheet of cardboard with a 10cm x 8cm rectangle cut out can be given to pairs). Each group then practices taking photos of demand and offer (remind students to experiment with different angles and different shot lengths). Each person in the group gets to be photographer for 3 minutes, when the teacher shakes a tambourine, they must switch.
At the end of 10 minutes, come back as a class and connect the cameras to the SMARTboard and discuss some of the students’ photographs – how do the photographs make the class feel? How do they make you feel that way? (Or if no cameras are available, discuss what each group did with their viewfinder – how did they use demand and offer? How did angles and shot length change the meaning of the picture? In this case, the teacher may need to have other photographs available for discussion).
Discuss the types of images and what they used or did to link the images with the written text.
Observe the pictures and discuss the content of each picture. Students will talk about how each image makes them feel and why they think they feel this way (what is it about the image that creates that feeling?).
Volunteers select the images of demand, and the whole class confirms that the picture selected is a ‘demand’ image.
Students respond to open-questioning, drawing on prior knowledge about visual images from previous units.
Students gain an understanding about images of ‘offer’.
Groups are formed and each student takes a turn capturing pictures of demand and offer, drawing on prior knowledge of other image techniques (e.g. angles, shot length).
Students observe other group’s photos (or the teacher’s prepared ones if no cameras are available) and participate in the whole group discussion.
Students now select whether an image of demand, or an image of offer is more appropriate to include with their written factual description. They then fill in their worksheet by selecting what type of image would be best to include (timeline, diagram, map, photograph) and design a prototype of their image (which they will make either on the computer, by searching images on CD ROM or the Internet, or by taking an appropriate photograph, uploading it and cropping it to size next lesson).
The teacher will make observations during the introduction and assess students’ knowledge through discussion. This will assess whether the students can recognise how images are linked with factual recounts according to their purpose and audience. Students’ photographs (or teacher observation during the viewfinder activity) will be utilised to assess students’ understanding of demand and offer and observation of class discussion will further provide information for this assessment. Students’ draft images will be marked, to assess understanding of interactive meanings of demand and offer in relation to the purpose of their written text and the ability to apply visual grammar techniques.
Key questions to be answered include:
1. Does the student talk about the interactive meanings of different visual texts and relate the use of demand and offer to the purpose and meaning of the image?
2. Did the student select a relevant image (including its appropriate interactive meaning) to accompany their written factual recount?
Viewfinders should be made and available in case of problems with technology (such as dead batteries).
During the cooperative group work task, the teacher should provide extra guidance to students who may still be unclear about the concept of demand/offer. The teacher should ensure that the groups are mixed-ability for this task. If required, further assistance should be given to any ESL students when they are designing their own image to support their writing. The teacher might use the resource The History of Bankstown (Bankstown City Council, 2003) to show another example to these students.
· Was the introductory activity set at an appropriate level for stage 2 students? Were they able to work cooperatively to achieve the outcome for this activity?
· Were the students able to apply the new knowledge of demand and offer to the photography and draft image activities, or is further teaching of this subject matter required?
· Could the student select an appropriate image to support their written factual recount?
· What parts of the lesson worked well and were engaging for the students and what would I change?
· Will students be able to apply this knowledge to their final task?